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4 CHEAP TIPS FOR A LOW-BUDGET PHOTOSHOOT

Picha often strives to give our Picha Heroes the best service we can offer but Picha also thrive to allow our Picha Heroes’ eyes to feast. Look at these yummilicious.

Often times, we were asked if we hired our own professional photographer or if these pictures were taken from Google Images. Heck no, we took almost every picture by ourselves! Plus, we can’t afford an in-house photographer even if we want to *sobs*

However as a humble (and cheapskate) business, we discovered so many ways to do food photoshoot on a very low budget. We usually achieve these with less than RM100 (we are really really cheap skate HAHA)

Here’s how:

#1 – BE A COPYCAT (FOR ONCE)

When you are just starting out, instagram or Facebook good pictures to learn from (Find them on Pinterest too!). I’ve always asked people to put a grid over the nice photos and then copy exactly how it’s supposed to look like, including colours, positioning or plating. It’s ok to be a copycat when you start because everyone needs practise anyway.

However, when you start to move away from those images, you can infuse your own style especially when you are thinking how you want your company’s branding to be like. Be playful or have fun with your photos, be more experimental as every product is unique and definitely try to portray its uniqueness.

#2 – UTILIZE THAT PHONE CAMERA

You can either invest in a good camera, or simply use the smartphone camera for your photos! At Picha, 80% of our photos are taken with an iPhone camera. You’d be surprised how you can still get good photos with just a phone camera. Just look at the quality of these photos!

Photo Credit: Thevi’s Kitchen featuring Muna’s Lightbites Set

If you don’t have an iPhone (or a good phone camera), then just borrow your friend’s handphone HAHA!

#3 – SHOP LIKE AN AUNTY

A good photoshoot requires nice props and background. So step into that aunty shoes and start hunting for places with low prices or promotion. DAISO is the place to go for real cheap plates and bowls which are nice and authentic plates or bowls. As your friends if they may have unwanted pots and pans.. you never know they can be great props for your photos! Sometimes you may find cheaper props in countries like Cambodia or Thailand, so ask your family or friends for a favor when they travel there.

As for the background, you can buy a small wallpaper, white or black hardboard or use unwanted wood as your background. All of them don’t cost much and they make really great background.

The point is to get them as CHEAP as you can!

#4 – USE NATURAL LIGHT

Why natural light? You guessed it right, because it’s FREE!

Take your photos near the balcony or at the balcony. Bring your props and food to an open field because there is a wide source of natural light over there.

The downside to natural light is that there may be reflections or shadows in your photos. But you can still achieve great photos if you learn to control and with cheap tools. Watch this video to understand the concept of reflection and shadows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kekNbGad2Lk

You will get better at this eventually and that is when you can start infusing your own style and personality into your company’s brand. Be playful and don’t be afraid to experiment with your photoshoot as every product is unique and it takes time and practice to portray that uniqueness.

So here you go, these are 5 cheap tips for a cheap photoshoot with possibly GREAT production.

P/S: To all professional photographers, please don’t bash us. We’re not saying you shouldn’t use professionals at all, it’s just that sometimes you need to do it yourself. I must say that it does take a lot of experience and artistry for great production too and what inspires us are those photographers who are able to tell great stories with their photography skills. Here’s another shoutout to our amazing Picha resident photographer, Joe Kit!